IDENTIFIED BAVARIAN ROYAL YACHT CLUB DRESS TUNIC

SKU: 20-321

$725.00

The Bavarian Yacht Club was founded in 1888. It received its current name in 1909 through the cooperation of the House of Wittelsbach, Bavaria’s ruling family during the Imperial Period. [The Wittelsbachs are still very much involved in Germany today, with varied commercial interests]. The Bavarian Yacht Club was formed at the same time as the Hohenzollern Yacht Club. Even though Bavaria is landlocked, its many lakes have long supported a large sailing tradition. Several House of Wittelsbach princes remain active in sailing today. Today we are offering a Bavarian Yacht Club dress tunic. It is similar to a Navy dress tunic (lower-dress, not the more elaborate high-dress). The tunic resembles a waistcoat. It is made of high-quality, navy-blue wool. A double row (five per side) of gilt-toned buttons runs down the tunic’s center. Another pair of buttons in the center serves as an extender that the wearer would have used to secure the tunic, rather than the five on view. Each tunic sleeve displays five smaller buttons. [Please note that EVERY one of these buttons (twenty-two total) displays a fouled anchor with the Wittelsbach Crown over it. Flanking the anchor we see a “B” and a “Y.” A “C” is centered over the anchor itself]. The tunic has very wide lapels. The tunic’s interior sports a very impressive black mint-condition silk liner. Two inside pockets are present. When we turn one of them out, we reveal a label with the original owner’s name, “Dr. Wilhelm Recknager.” Also included is the batch number “15452,” as well as the date it was purchased and delivered to its new owner, “27 June 1925.” Clearly, it is a post WW I garment, giving further proof that the Yacht Club survived the Great War. A tailor label is present in the neck area and contains the information listed below.

“ABTEILUNG
HERRENSCHNEIDERI
Bamberger & Hertz
München”

The tunic’s overall condition is excellent. It has been worn very little, and looks most impressive with its gilt-toned buttons against its navy-blue surface.

Description

The Bavarian Yacht Club was founded in 1888. It received its current name in 1909 through the cooperation of the House of Wittelsbach, Bavaria’s ruling family during the Imperial Period. [The Wittelsbachs are still very much involved in Germany today, with varied commercial interests]. The Bavarian Yacht Club was formed at the same time as the Hohenzollern Yacht Club. Even though Bavaria is landlocked, its many lakes have long supported a large sailing tradition. Several House of Wittelsbach princes remain active in sailing today. Today we are offering a Bavarian Yacht Club dress tunic. It is similar to a Navy dress tunic (lower-dress, not the more elaborate high-dress). The tunic resembles a waistcoat. It is made of high-quality, navy-blue wool. A double row (five per side) of gilt-toned buttons runs down the tunic’s center. Another pair of buttons in the center serves as an extender that the wearer would have used to secure the tunic, rather than the five on view. Each tunic sleeve displays five smaller buttons. [Please note that EVERY one of these buttons (twenty-two total) displays a fouled anchor with the Wittelsbach Crown over it. Flanking the anchor we see a “B” and a “Y.” A “C” is centered over the anchor itself]. The tunic has very wide lapels. The tunic’s interior sports a very impressive black mint-condition silk liner. Two inside pockets are present. When we turn one of them out, we reveal a label with the original owner’s name, “Dr. Wilhelm Recknager.” Also included is the batch number “15452,” as well as the date it was purchased and delivered to its new owner, “27 June 1925.” Clearly, it is a post WW I garment, giving further proof that the Yacht Club survived the Great War. A tailor label is present in the neck area and contains the information listed below.

“ABTEILUNG
HERRENSCHNEIDERI
Bamberger & Hertz
München”

The tunic’s overall condition is excellent. It has been worn very little, and looks most impressive with its gilt-toned buttons against its navy-blue surface.

Related products

PRUSSIA – SCHIRMÜTZE – OFFICER – PRINZ/KRONPRINZ/KAISER WILHELM II

SKU: 20-262

$6,995.00

Before we begin the formal description of this wonderful schirmütze, let us confirm to whom we are referring as Prinz/Kronprinz Wilhelm. We mean Germany’s third Kaiser, Wilhelm II (1859-1941), prior to 15 June 1888. Our officer’s visor cap dates from approximately 1880 to 1888. During that period, Wilhelm I was Kaiser, his son Friedrich Wilhelm was Kronprinz, and Friedrich’s son Wilhelm was the Prinz. Wilhelm I died in Berlin on 9 March 1888 and his son became Kaiser Friedrich III. Friedrich III served as Kaiser for only ninety-nine days, during which his son Wilhelm was elevated to Kronprinz. After Friedrich III’s death, Wilhelm II was crowned as Kaiser. Germany had three Kaisers during 1888. [At that point, Germans had no reason to suspect that Wilhelm II would be Germany’s final Kaiser, or that the monarchy would be abolished in 1918 by Wilhelm’s abdication and exile to the Netherlands, where he would remain until his death in 1941].
At first glance, this is a fairly standard, pre 1897 Prussian infantry officer’s schirmütze. It sports Prussia’s single kokarde, and the very short black front visor typical of the period’s caps. The cap’s cover is made of the highest quality dark-blue wool. Its wide red trim band measures 1″ in width. An excellent Prussian Officer’s Kokarde is centered on the red trim band. The cap’s top sports a narrow red piping band. The cap’s exterior is in excellent condition, considering its age. Inside the cap is a fine, brown leather sweatband. It is in near-mint condition and has seen little use. (Again this is especially pleasing since we are dealing with one hundred plus year-old leather).
It displays a fine, gold silk liner. In the silk liner’s center is Prinz/Kronprinz Wilhelm’s gold, embossed, crowned cypher. The silk liner exhibits a small tear forward. Up inside the cap’s interior is a small piece of metal, which is the source of the silk’s damage. The metal is a part of the cap’s “folding system,” which collapses so it takes less space. It is similar to the system used in top hats. (In Europe, this is referred to as a “Chapeau Claque”). Several years ago I offered a similar cap from Kaiser Wilhelm I.
This is an unusual, early piece of Kaiser Wilhelm II memorabilia. It is in stunning condition and would make a welcome addition to any collection.

Today, we are offering you one of the most interesting items ever owned by Kaiser Wilhelm II and offered to you here on Der Rittmeister Militaria. It is no secret that two of our favorite merchandise categories are items once owned by royals and those related to the Navy. Our offering today combines both types with an item attributed to Kaiser Wilhelm II and his royal yacht, the S. M. Y. Hohenzollern. This truly magnificent wine carafe was used daily aboard the S. M. Y. Hohenzollern to set a fine table for the Kaiser and his guests.
Kaiser Wilhelm II had strong feelings about the sea and its possibilities for Germany. He firmly supported expanding the Kaiserliche Marine under Secretary of the Imperial Navy Alfred von Tirpitz. As one of Queen Victoria of England’s grandsons, Wilhelm was exceedingly jealous of his British cousins. He was determined that Germany should have a Navy equal to Great Britain’s, as well as overseas colonies to produce wealth for Germany’s Empire as they did for Britain’s.
Kaiser Wilhelm II also greatly enjoyed his luxurious royal lifestyle on land AND sea. His royal yacht and aviso (royal dispatch boat) was the S. M. Y. Hohenzollern. While onboard, he enjoyed every amenity that was available at his numerous German castles. He had special dishes and glassware created solely for use onboard the Hohenzollern that were just as fine as that at any of his castles. [Recently we offered and quickly sold one of the Hohenzollern’s salad cruets].
The best-known S. M. Y. Hohenzollern was the second to bear that name. It was placed in service in 1893, then used extensively until mid-1914. A third S. M. Y. Hohenzollern was under construction when war broke out in July 1914. WW I not only halted progress on the third yacht, but also ended Wilhelm’s use of the second. [In the nineteen years the second Hohenzollern was in service, Wilhelm spent the equivalent of FOUR full years on board]!
The Hohenzollern’s carafe is a glass flagon that is rounded at the bottom. It holds a total of 28 U.S. ounces (.83 liters). Its diameter at the top is 2 ½” and 3″ in diameter at the base. The flagon’s bottom features a sunburst design. The title S. M. Y. Hohenzollern is etched into its glass side toward the base. The presentation’s true stars are featured at the carafe’s top and its handle, which are both rendered in .800 silver! The graceful handle flows down smoothly to the flagon’s mid line. It attaches to the top, where a close look reveals Kaiser Wilhelm II’s crowned royal cypher attached to the flip-up. A wreath encircles the cypher, then is joined at the top with the Hohenzollern Crown. The distinctively elegant presentation simply reeks of Imperial German noblesse oblige. The lid’s underside reveals the hallmarks “37230,” a mark I cannot identify, and the royal silver fineness hallmarks: a half moon, a crown, and .800.
We are proud to offer such an exquisite carafe with its echoes of an epoch of Imperial grace and refinement.

MENU FOR DINNER AT BERLIN’S NEUES PALAIS 1 NOVEMBER 1911

SKU: 20-303

$195.00

This is a dinner menu for a function held at the Neues Palais (New Palace) in Potsdam. The Neues Palais was started in 1763 (European history still stuns me, when a palace built by Frederick the Great at the Seven Years War’s conclusion is referred to as “New”)! The palace was built on grounds near Sanssouci. Frederick the Great still preferred Sanssouci (due to its French influences), but considered the construction of a new palace an opportunity to demonstrate Prussia’s power and grandeur. The Neues Palais had more than two hundred rooms. When Kaiser Frederick III came to power, he spent most of his ninety-nine-day-reign within its walls. Kaiser Frederick III’s son, Kaiser Wilhelm II, also preferred the Neues Palais after he assumed Germany’s throne. The larger palace enabled Wilhelm to entertain his guests in a far more lavish and grand manner.
The menu measures 5 ½” x 8 5/8.” The event’s date(1 November 1918) appears as its first line of information. It is handwritten, as the evening’s actual bill of fare. A rather simple diagram is drawn on its back: a circle with positions noted on two opposing points. Each is identified, yet a clear reading is a bit difficult to come by. They may indicate the positions of the Kaiser and Kaiserin, or two other important dignitaries. When one envisions the plethora of dinnerware patterns Wilhelm II had at his disposal (not to mention the matching cutlery, glassware, and table decorations) and multiplies that by the multitude of guests possible for a grand event – the mind simply boggles! The identities portrayed in the diagram add to the mystery. Purchase this lovely menu and let your imagination conjure up all of its impressive possibilities.

About Us

I'm Kenneth (Ken) J. Greenfield, currently of New Port Richey, Florida, located on the West Coast of Florida in the Tampa Bay area. I started out as a collector of Imperial German Militaria, particularly items dealing with the Imperial German Air Service in the early 1960's. After more than forty years of avid collecting, I began to sell a few items to upgrade my collection and help finance my collecting "habit." I attended militaria shows, both to buy and sell. I wanted to spend more time at home and less traveling for the national companies that I had worked for; so, starting my own business seemed like an attractive alternative. I like nothing better than talking with others about militaria, and introducing newcomers to the joys of owning a "piece of history."